TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Today's post will be mercifully short (you're welcome), but the subject thankfully was not. As some of you know, Julie and I had what can only be described as a crazy-town travel year in '21. We decided we were going to take full advantage of Julie's ability to work remotely and my retirement, and we went nuts.
10 seconds of seriousness. I write the Travel Guides as a diary of sorts, but also in the hope that the information I provide could actually be useful. It is in that spirit that I compiled them all and am now proud (and yes, humbled) to present to you The Portico Darwin Travel Guide 2021.
Narcissistic? Of course. But I think you'd be mistaken to ignore it if you're going to a place we visited. And maybe it will stimulate your thinking about some travel of your own.
FROM THE UNWASHED MASSES Fairly quiet, so I prod the discussion. I am joining many in deeming the pandemic now an endemic. I can literally sense the cultural and societal change occurring in real time - even the matronly New York Times is aglow with stories of normalcy.
Is the risk zero? No, it is not. But the risks to a fully boosted individual with uncompromised health are minor; we know that now. Can a fully vaccinated person still get sick? Yes, and I have very close friends that are sick with Omicron right now, or recently have been. And would I prefer a proof-of-boosted-vaccination regime, for access to interior spaces, planes, trains, and buses? Yes, but that's not going to happen, so I'll put on a mask when it's warranted or mandated.
Further, I am not going to get tested unless I am symptomatic. Am I concerned about unknowingly transmitting the virus to someone? Sure - I'm not a total jerk. But I don't really hang out with people that are at high risk in the first place.
I see the state of affairs this way: if you drive or ride in a car, you're already in far greater danger. At least if you're fully vaccinated and boosted - but of course you are, right? Thank you to any one that is reading this newsletter.
KLUF Travel is one obsession, and I do have another, and it's not just weissbier or telling people what to do. It is music and what happens with me is that I'll learn of a band and/or album, and occasionally, it will really take hold. Those albums appeared on my recent Best Albums list, and here's an entry from that list that currently has me really enthralled. Kudos to my great pal Arthur, who first introduced this band to me.
